Most surprisingly things went nearly according to plan yesterday and lunchtime found me up to my knees in fast flowing water just above Grey Bridge on Brants Ghyll.  The water was crystal clear and quite cold, flowing over a bed of large boulders so I had my doubts about how much material would be disturbed by a kick around.  The first sample produced some very encouraging results, a lot of Iron Blues which were hatching in the sample tray as I watched them.  There were good numbers of all the key families in the monitoring programme except gammarus.  Their absence is, I suspect, more to do with the lack of in stream herbage and the speed of the current than the quality of the water.

There were a lot of bullhead fry in the net, far more than I usually get a few yards away in the main river, but the real surprise was the number and variety of species of stonefly.  I did 3 or 4 thirty second kicks along a 20 yard stretch and each sample contained ten to fifteen individuals ranging in size from the just visible to real creepers of over an inch.

Here is one of the largest and whilst it's hard to gauge size from the photo the curved line at the bottom is the edge of a standard petri dish.



This beck is clearly vital for fish recrutment and the general health of the river.  It may lack good spawning gravel, but with the hatchery and spawning channel a few hundred yards upstream it will play a crucial role in nurturing fry and young salmonids before they drop out into th emain river.

It's an overcast, cool and breezy start here with the threat of showers lingering in the air.  We had a drop of rain in the night so the water level in the river continues to hold out prospects for decent fishing.

Ian